Vibratory roller for compactors

ABSTRACT

A vibratory roller for a compactor is provided. The vibratory roller includes a rotary drum, and a vibratory mechanism. The rotary drum includes an inner circumference. The vibratory mechanism is installed within the rotary drum. The vibratory mechanism includes a cradle and at least one actuating cylinder. The cradle is axially suspended within the rotary drum and includes an outer peripheral portion. The outer peripheral portion abuts against a portion of the inner circumference of the rotary drum. The actuating cylinder includes a housing and a piston-rod arrangement. The piston-rod arrangement is slideably positioned relative to the housing and is connected to the cradle. The housing extends and retracts relative to the piston-rod arrangement and a corresponding reaction imparts a vibratory motion in the cradle and the rotary drum.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to vibratory rollers for compactors. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a vibratory mechanism for a vibratory roller of a compactor.

BACKGROUND

Compactors are commonly known, in the road construction industry, for construction and repair of work surfaces, such as roads. A variety of compactors are known, such as but not limited to, soil compactors, landfill compactors, vibratory compactors, tandem vibratory rollers, and pneumatic rollers. A vibratory compactors is generally used to compact sand, gravel, or crushed aggregate for foundations, footings, or driveways; base preparation for concrete slabs, and asphalt parking lots. The vibratory compactor includes at least one vibratory roller, that serves the purpose of compacting a surface. The vibratory roller is mounted on a main frame and is configured to compact the work surface beneath the vibratory compactor.

Conventional vibratory rollers include a rotary drum and a vibratory mechanism. The vibratory mechanism includes an eccentric shaft (eccentric weights mounted on a rotary shaft) located within the vibratory drum and coupled to the rotary drum. The eccentric shaft is driven by a first motor to impart vibrations to the rotary drum, thereby compacting materials on which the rotary drum rests. Rotation of the rotary drum, and therefore movement of the machine, is imparted to the roller by a second motor. Vibrations imparted by the eccentric shaft are mechanical vibrations and therefore has a relatively high response time. Therefore, the eccentric shaft takes a relatively longer time to reach the maximum amplitude of vibration. The vibratory compactor may have travelled some some distance, during this response time of the eccentric shaft. This may cause a portion of the work surface, to be left uncompacted.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,481,144 discloses a vibratory countermine system for a propulsion system. The vibratory countermine system includes a vibratory sub-assembly that includes at least three vibratory elements, to impart vibration to a ground-contacting percussion system (rotary drum). Although, the vibratory elements employed has a relatively low response time, however the vibratory elements are deployed outside the ground-contacting percussion system, which requires additional components for installation of the vibratory elements. This leads to a bulky vibratory sub-assembly.

Accordingly, the system and method of the present disclosure solves one or more problems set forth above and other problems in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various aspects of the present disclosure describe a vibratory roller for a compactor. The vibratory roller includes a rotary drum and a vibratory mechanism. The rotary drum includes an inner circumference. The vibratory mechanism is installed within the rotary drum. The vibratory mechanism includes a cradle and at least one actuating cylinder. The cradle is axially suspended within the rotary drum. The cradle includes an outer peripheral portion. The outer peripheral portion of the cradle abuts against a portion of the inner circumference of the rotary drum. The actuating cylinder includes a housing and a piston-rod arrangement. The piston-rod arrangement is slideably positioned relative to the housing and is connected to the cradle. The housing of the actuating cylinder is adapted to extend and retract relative to the piston-rod arrangement and a corresponding reaction imparts a vibratory motion in the cradle and correspondingly the rotary drum.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a compactor, in accordance with the concepts of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a vibratory roller of the compactor of FIG. 1, illustrating a rotary drum and a vibratory mechanism of the vibratory roller, in accordance with the concepts of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 3 is a side view of the vibratory roller of the compactor of FIG. 1, illustrating a partial sectional view of a piston-rod arrangement of an actuating cylinder of the vibrating mechanism, in accordance with the concepts of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. I, there is shown an exemplary compactor 10 that facilitates compaction of compactible work material or mat 11, such as for example soil, gravel, bituminous mixture, asphalt, and various other work materials. The compactor 10 is a vibratory compactor. For ease in reference and understanding, the compactor 10 will be interchangeably referred to as the vibratory compactor 10. The vibratory compactor 10 includes a rear frame 12, a frontal frame 14, an engine compartment 16, an operator cabin 18, two wheels 20, and a vibratory roller 22.

The rear frame 12 is a support structure positioned proximal to a rear end 24 of the vibratory compactor 10. The rear frame 12 is adapted to support the engine compartment 16 and the operator cabin 18 of the vibratory compactor 10. An operator is generally positioned in the operator cabin 18, to access a number of control circuitries (not shown) associated with the vibratory compactor 10. Moreover, the rear frame 12 is supported on the wheels 20, which facilitate machine maneuver from one place to another.

The frontal frame 14 is an elongated structure positioned proximal to a frontal end 26 of the vibratory compactor 10. The frontal frame 14 is steerable, relative to the rear frame 12 of the vibratory compactor 10. The frontal frame 14 is adapted to rotatably support the vibratory roller 22 that performs compaction operation on the mat 11.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, there is shown the vibratory roller 22 of the vibratory compactor 10. In general, the vibratory roller 22 rolls and vibrates, to perform compaction operation on the mat 11. The vibratory roller 22 includes a rotary drum 28 and a vibratory mechanism 30.

The rotary drum 28 is a hollow cylindrical structure rotatably installed on the frontal frame 14 of the vibratory compactor 10. The rotary drum 28 rotates over the mat 11, to assist machine maneuverability during compaction. More specifically, a first motor (not shown) rotates the rotary drum 28 over the mat 11, to assist machine maneuverability during compaction operation. The rotary drum 28 includes an inner circumference 32 and an outer circumference 34. The outer circumference 34 of the rotary drum 28 is in contact with the mat 11. The rotary drum 28 is imparted a vibratory motion in a vertical direction, A, to perform compaction on the mat 11. The rotary drum 28 is imparted with the vibratory motion, with use of the vibratory mechanism 30.

The vibratory mechanism 30 is installed within the rotary drum 28 of the vibratory roller 22. The vibratory mechanism 30 includes a cradle 36 and a multiplicity of actuating cylinders 38. The actuating cylinders 38, in conjunction with the cradle 36, impart vibratory motion to the rotary drum 28. Although, the present disclosure contemplates usage a multiplicity of actuating cylinders 38, usage of a singular actuating cylinder 38, to impart vibratory motion to the rotary drum 28, may also be contemplated. For clarity purposes, structure and arrangement of the singular actuating cylinder 38 with the cradle 36 will be discussed in details hereinafter. Similar structure and arrangement of remaining actuating cylinder 38, may also be contemplated.

The cradle 36 is axially suspended within the rotary drum 28 of the vibratory roller 22, along a longitudinal axis X-X′. The cradle 36 includes a first end portion 40, a second end portion 42 (FIG. 2), and an intermediate cylindrical portion 44 (FIG. 2). In addition, the cradle 36 defines an outer peripheral portion 46, at the first end portion 40 and the second end portion 42 (FIG. 2). The cradle 36 defines an inner peripheral portion (not shown), at the intermediate cylindrical portion 44 (FIG. 2). Moreover, the cradle 36 is rotatably supported on the frontal frame 14, at the first end portion 40 and the second end portion 42 (FIG. 2). The cradle 36 is installed on the frontal frame 14, such that the outer peripheral portion 46 of the cradle 36 abuts against a portion of the inner circumference 32 of the rotary drum 28. Generally, the outer peripheral portion 46 of the cradle 36 abuts against the portion of the inner circumference 32 of the rotary drum 28, where the outer circumference 34 contacts the mat 11. Further, the cradle 36 is imparted with the vibratory motion, with use of the actuating cylinder 38. The cradle 36, in turn, transfers the vibratory motion to the rotary drum 28, along the vertical direction, A. In an embodiment, the cradle 36 is connected to a second motor (not shown). The second motor (not shown) rotates an arrangement between the cradle 36 and the actuating cylinder 38, to change the direction of vibration motion transferred to the rotary drum 28.

The actuating cylinder 38 is a conventional cylinder installed within the cradle 36. The actuating cylinder 38 may embody, such as but not limited to, a servo ram, an electric actuating cylinder, a hydraulic actuating cylinder, and a pneumatic actuating cylinder. The actuating cylinder 38 is adapted to generate vibratory motion, which is transferred to the rotary drum 28, via the cradle 36. The actuating cylinder 38 generally includes a housing 48 and a piston-rod arrangement 50 (FIG. 3).

The housing 48 of the actuating cylinder 38 includes a relatively heavy mass structure that slideably houses the piston-rod arrangement 50 of the actuating cylinder 38. Notably, amount of mass of the housing 48 corresponds to the amount of maximum amplitude of vibratory motion, generated by the actuating cylinder 38. Therefore, in the current embodiment, an additional mass 52 is attached to the housing 48, to increase overall weight of the housing 48 and correspondingly to increase the maximum amplitude of vibratory motion. Although, the present disclosure contemplates usage of the additional mass 52 to increase the overall weight of the housing 48, usage of an increased mass housing 48 may also be contemplated.

Referring to FIG. 3, the piston-rod arrangement 50 is slideably positioned, relative to the housing 48. The piston-rod arrangement 50 includes a piston 54 and a rod 56. In general, the piston 54 of the piston-rod arrangement 50 is slideably positioned within the housing 48. The rod 56 is connected to the piston 54 and extends beyond the housing 48. More specifically, one end of the rod 56 is connected to the piston 54 and another end of the rod 56 extends beyond the housing 48.

Referring back to FIGS. 2 and 3, the actuating cylinder 38 is mounted within the cradle 36, along the vertical direction, A. In general, the rod 56 of the piston-rod arrangement 50 is attached to the inner peripheral portion (not shown) of the cradle 36, to mount and support the actuating cylinder 38 on the cradle 36. An attachment between the rod 56 and the inner peripheral portion (not shown) of the cradle 36 is facilitated by any of the known attachment means, such as but not limited to, a weld attachment, a bolt attachment, and an adhesive attachment.

Furthermore, the actuating cylinder 38 is connected to and manipulated, with use of a control system (not shown). In general, the control system (not shown) manipulates the actuating cylinder 38, to alternatively switch between an extended position and a retracted position. In the extended position, the housing 48 extends relative to the piston-rod arrangement 50, in a direction away from the cradle 36. In the retracted position, the housing 48 retracts relative to the piston-rod arrangement 50, in a direction towards the cradle 36. Therefore, the housing 48 alternatively extends and retracts relative to the piston-rod arrangement 50, upon actuation of the control system (not shown). As the housing 48 extracts and retracts relative to the piston-rod arrangement 50, a corresponding reaction force is imparted on the piston-rod arrangement 50. The corresponding reaction force generates the vibratory motion in the piston-rod arrangement 50, which is transferred to the cradle 36 and correspondingly to the rotary drum 28.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

In operation, the control system (not shown) of the vibratory roller 22 is actuated, as the vibratory compactor 10 is started. Thereafter, the control system manipulates each of the actuating cylinders 38, to alternatively switch between the extended position and the retracted position. As the piston-rod arrangement 50 is fixed to the cradle 36, the housing 48 extends and retracts relative to the piston-rod arrangement 50, upon such manipulation of the actuating cylinders 38. Such manipulation generates a corresponding reaction force to the piston-rod arrangement 50. The corresponding reaction force generates a vibratory motion in the piston-rod arrangement 50, along the vertical direction, A. As the piston-rod arrangement 50 is fixedly connected to the cradle 36, the vibratory motion of the piston-rod arrangement 50 is transferred to the cradle 36. The cradle 36 then transfers the vibratory motion to the rotary drum 28, at the outer peripheral portion 46. Therefore, the rotary drum 28 is imparted with the vibratory motion, to perform compaction operation on the mat 11. As the disclosed vibratory roller 22 employs the actuating cylinders 38 (which is either of electrically or hydraulically or pneumatically actuated), a relatively quick response time is obtained by the vibratory roller 22. More specifically, the disclosed vibratory roller 22 quickly reaches the maximum amplitude of vibration and therefore negligible space is left uncompacted, during start of the vibratory compactor 10. In addition, as the entire vibratory mechanism 30 is positioned within the rotary drum 28, a compact vibratory roller 22 is obtained.

The many features and advantages of the disclosure are apparent from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the disclosure that fall within the true spirit and scope thereof. Further, since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art. It is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and, accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to that fall within the scope of the disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A vibratory roller for a compactor, the vibratory roller comprising: a rotary drum including an inner circumference; a vibratory mechanism installed within the rotary drum, the vibratory mechanism including: a cradle axially suspended within the rotary drum, the cradle including an outer peripheral portion, wherein the outer peripheral portion of the cradle abuts against a portion of the inner circumference of the rotary drum; and at least one actuating cylinder, including: a housing; and a piston-rod arrangement slideably positioned relative to the housing and being connected to the cradle, wherein the housing of the at least one actuating cylinder is adapted to extend and retract relative to the piston-rod arrangement and a corresponding reaction imparts a vibratory motion in the cradle and the rotary drum. 